Ecuadorian business community frets over Edward Snowden arrival

The tussle over Snowden has Ecuador's business leaders on edge. | AP Photo

An extension of the deal was far from certain before the Snowden situation cropped up. That’s in part because the United States has established free trade agreements with Colombia and Peru — two nations that were part of the original Andean trade program — leaving Ecuador with a unique preferential trade program.

But some business leaders in Ecuador think U.S. ire over Snowden could be the nail in the coffin.

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“I think of course that’s going to influence the decision in Congress,” said Peñaherrera.

Another fear among Ecuadorian businesses is over the Generalized System of Preferences, another program that gives Ecuador and more than 100 other countries duty-free entry for certain products. That, too, could be in jeopardy if the U.S. government chooses to cut it off.

Dean Rule, an American and the general manager of Conectiflor, S.A., a floral company in Ecuador, said an end to the trade deals would “very dramatically” affect the nation’s businesses and is causing widespread concern among those in the floral industry.

The status of Snowden’s bid remained murky late Wednesday as he remained in hiding and Ecuador’s acting foreign minister, Galo Galarza, said the country hadn’t given him travel documents.

“There is no passport or any document that has been delivered [to Snowden] by any Ecuadorian consulate,” Galarza said, according to Ecuadorian media company Teleamazonas.

Still, Correa doesn’t appear likely to cow to U.S. pressure on the matter.

“Be certain that we will analyze the case of Snowden very responsibly, and we will make with absolute sovereignty the decision that we believe most adequate,” he tweeted on Monday.

He lashed out against the United States and the international press and in support of Snowden on Wednesday after The Washington Post published an editorial titled, “Snowden case highlights Ecuador’s double standard,” which accused Correa of suppressing media while aiding the self-proclaimed whistleblower of another country.

“The nerve!” Correa said in a tweet referencing the editorial piece. “Do you realize the power of the international press? They have managed to focus on Snowden and the ‘evil’ of countries that ‘support’ him, making us forget about the terrible things being done against the American people and the entire world.”